Newsday freelancer wins BBC/British Council’s radio play contest

Newsday freelance writer and entrepreneur Julien Neaves, 42, has won the 2023 BBC World Service and British Council’s International Radio Playwriting competition in the English as a First Language category.

It’s not his first time entering: in 2018 he was the Caribbean’s regional winner, with Tanty Get Ah Android.

South Korea’s Hyukin Michaela Kwon was the winner in the English as a Second Language category, with Steady Eyes.

This year, Neaves emerged as the competition’s overall winner, telling the story of The Mighty Corbeau.

A press release said the winning entries were also commended for their specific sense of place, vivid characters and universal themes. The judges were particularly impressed by the way The Mighty Corbeau used the medium of audio drama to create an intriguing world and compelling story.

Neaves’ play takes its listeners on the journey of an ageing calypso singer who decides to come out of retirement to finally prove he is better than his award-winning rival of many years. But he is faced with a huge and unforeseen obstacle, a synopsis said.

The three-act play gives a lively and poignant exploration of ageing and mental health, it added.

The story was informed by Neaves's over two-decades-long career as a journalist.

Asked about the inspiration for the play, Neaves said he started working on it in the late 90s (when he began writing plays) and decided to “dust it off” when the call for submissions was made last year.

Initially, the subject of mental health was not addressed in the earlier draft, but he added it as he worked on the play for this year’s submission. This layer of the story was informed by an interview with a young woman years ago who cared for her parents, who had Alzheimer's.

“All the things she went through, the pain and struggle...it is something a lot of people go through in silence. Coming from that reporter side, I said, ‘Let me take some of this story, do some research and ground it in reality and add that layer to the story as well,’” Neaves said in a phone interview.

His journalistic career helped how he creates.

“As journalists, we are storytellers. We are taking information and processing it and we are observers of people. We are always looking at people, learning their stories.

“Some of the most ordinary people have some of the most extraordinary stories.”

He believes taking time to revisit earlier work helps most writers. Neaves learnt early on as an aspiring writer that nothing was set in stone.

“You can always revisit it, make it better, expand it.”

Neaves added sometimes writers have fantastic ideas but possibly don't have the creative skill at the time to execute them well.

“I would advise anyone, if they have some script they wrote, some story from ten, 11 years ago that you enjoyed, but it was not the best piece of work – go back, revisit it and make it better. Enter some competitions: you never know what could happen.”

Neaves said he would love to see the play on TT stages.

While many might think competitions like these might prefer a very western story, he believes its Trinidadian-ness was what made it most compelling.

“The language is Trini, the topic is Trini, the references are very Trinidadian. I put in things anyone in the world could understand organically, but it is extremely Trini.”

Neaves and his fellow winner will go to London in November for a week for a prizegiving ceremony and will be with the actors as his play is being recorded. The Mighty Corbeau is expected to be broadcast on the BBC World Service next February.

He added that while it was a personal accomplishment for him, it also represented the abundance of creativity in the country.

“We have so many people from past and present winning all these prizes – (novelists) Monique Roffey and Kevin Jared Hosein, who are making these waves and travelling the world.”

Neaves advised people never to underestimate their talent or selves if they were interested in earning a similar accomplishment.

“If you have a story you want to tell, tell your story. Enter a competition. Believe in yourself and your work.”

Neaves, who is from Port of Spain, thanked his drama mentor and writer Eric Barry; veteran actor Theresa Awai; and former journalist Sheldon Osborne for a dramatic reading in Trinidad before he submitted his play to the competition.

He added that he hoped to write more plays and books and return to poetry. Neaves also hopes The Mighty Corbeau could become a film.

The release said the competition received 677 entries from 94 countries, with 380 in the English as a First Language category and 297 in the English as a Second Language category.

“Topping the list of entries by global region were the Americas (196) and Africa (179). The other regions were: Asia, Caribbean, Europe, Middle East and the Pacific. The judges were delighted to make their final selection from entries spread across 11 different countries and all seven regions,” it added.